Gas Forces Evacuation

DIGEST

MARGATE -- City workers broke an underground gas line at the municipal complex on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of City Hall and the closing of Margate Boulevard for several hours.

The People`s Gas line, which feeds the emergency power generators used by the municipal complex fire station, was ruptured by a construction team building a patio at the rear of City Hall, City Manager Len Golub said.

Golub said the underground pipe, about an inch in diameter, may have been improperly marked by a firm used to identify the site of buried natural gas lines.

City Hall was filled with the odor of gas and was evacuated about 10 a.m. Roads around City Hall, including Margate Boulevard, were closed while crews repaired the leak.

There were no reports of injuries, and city workers were allowed back into the building about 1:30 p.m., Golub said.